Stumbling through Reality
by zairaswift
Summary: What if it didn't start as it did in Tokyo Ghoul? Just what if Kaneki Ken no longer existed from that moment he woke up? What if this one eyed ghoul was also a human and had never got rid of what made him a human? What if 'regular' doctors operated on him found out that he was part ghoul? What if there was a strange hair phenomenon? Read to find out... Rated M for gore/bloodshed.
1. Chapter 1 - The Phenomenon

**This is pretty sudden. I hope you enjoy and it isn't planned, so yeah.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.**

What if it didn't start as it did in Tokyo Ghoul? Just what if Kaneki Ken no longer existed from that moment he woke up? What if this one eyed ghoul was also a human and had never got rid of what made him a human? What if 'regular' doctors operated on him found out that he was part ghoul? What if there was a strange hair phenomenon? **Well, you're going to find out…**

"_Where am I?_" He looked around, confused. He recognised the painful pang of antiseptics and the vague smell of blood which had made his stomach lurch but not like how he wanted to throw up. Quite the opposite as he felt so… hungry. Barely able to even open his eyes, he felt as if something was tugging at his left eye. The itch was unbearable but he could do nothing. His body felt like tonnes of lead and broken into a million pieces.

Just trying to recall what had even happened to him was nauseating.

"_What happened again?_" Bit by bit, the memories trickled back to him just as how he was able to move his body. He turned his wrists to see a long plastic tube connected to him. He couldn't remember what it was called. He twisted his neck to the side to see the clock beside him. It was early in the morning, the day after he had gone with Ms Rize. Ms Rize. Yes, she was a ghoul. She tried to devour him, yet he was still alive. How? He closed his eyes to think, only to have a long slumber before him.

"It's a phenomenon! Literally impossible, but yet it has happened!" said someone. The voices rang like bell's in his mind. He wished they would go away.

"He's conscious!" said the voice again.

"Oh be quiet!" said a different and feminine voice. Opening his eyes, Kaneki saw two doctors in front of him most likely talking about his condition. He tried opening his mouth to speak but was only able to speak in short bursts.

"Kan… ken?" said the woman. "Oh, you name is Kaneki Ken? Yes." He continued to speak but to find it was literally gibberish to both the doctors and himself.

"Do you mean what happened? Nod for yes," said the male doctor. Kaneki nodded. The doctor sighed and braced himself to tell him what happened.

"You were in a horrible accident. A large beam struck both, I'm assuming, your girlfriend and you. She has died and we had to immediately transfer organs to you, so we… well, used your girl's organs in order to save you. You were barely alive at that point," said the doctor.

A beam killed them? Yes, he remembered, but that came after he was bitten by her. He closed his eyes again wanting to drift off back to sleep and escape reality.

"Well, once you are well enough, you're able to be discharged." Kaneki nodded, wanting to be alone. Was it a mad dream that he was experiencing, or the brutal reality? He didn't know and didn't care anymore. He wanted to curl up and escape, run away, perhaps die and never feel the hurt ever again. He was scared, terrified, of what would happen once he leaves the 'safe' walls of the hospital. Was it even safe? He didn't know.

"_Remember, he is a ghoul. We cannot disobey what we have agreed on,_" _said the man. The woman solemnly nodded._

"_It is our fault though."_

"_Whether he was originally a ghoul or we made him a ghoul, it is the world's fault for bringing those creatures here. He will be discharged tomorrow at the earliest and if he truly is a ghoul, he will be up and running tomorrow. Till then, we must be nice and follow our hospital rules for humans like us." The man reassured the woman who finally gave up and said there would be no fault for them._

"_Let's go. I'll contact the jail for the ghouls so that the Ghoul Investigators can take him away."_

"_Yes. For today, we'll rest. The ghoul will sleep for the rest of the day in that condition due to the drug we installed in the machine," the man held out an arm for the woman to take as the doctor couple fled from the outside of the room of the ghoul._

**Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review, as it very appreciated!**

**Zaira Swift.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Meeting Jason

**Welcome back and I'm glad that you like it! The more you support me for a story, the more I get done. I'm sorry if you're waiting on other stories! I'm working on them OKAY?! Actually, I'm not working on them that much… :(**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Ghoul.**

"Are you feeling good? No headaches or such?" asked the male doctor.

"N-no…" For some reason, he felt like he was being pressurized, his guts told him that. But he then wondered if the guts that were in his body were even his. If they weren't his, then they were Ms Rize. If the inside of his body is Ms Rize, but the outside is him, should he judge himself from the cover or what's inside?

"Ah okay. Some people are here to help you. They're investigators who know these parts well and are aware that you had been in this accident," said the doctor leading Kaneki towards the door. There were two people there. They seemed pretty normal. One was a bit short and fat while the other was tall and buff.

"This kid?" asked the shorter one. The doctor nodded. They took Kaneki roughly and instantly a pair of cuffs was put around his wrists.

"Wha-" he tried to question why they were doing his but they just shook their head solemnly and chucked him into the back of the van that was hidden and parked near them.

He remained quiet, knowing that whatever he said wasn't going to affect the two in anyway. He was asking himself over and over again, why were they doing this to him? But… he was a ghoul, right? With Ms Rize's organs it seemed like he was. Were they the Ghoul Investigators? Were they looking for Ms Rize? Many more questions circled in his mind.

"Get out." The taller man ordered him as they slid open the doors he was still cuffed and half pushed and dragged towards one of the large cells. It was a large cylindrical prison, the one rumoured to hold the most dangerous and serial ghouls in the surrounding districts. News leaked from there as there was once a break in the jail.

The large metal door was shut tightly and a set of jingles and clangs proved that the door was securely locked. Not even having the energy to go up to the door and helplessly bang on it to ask for the full reason why he was there, he curled up into a ball wanting the world to end before he disappeared.

_Later on…_

"Oi."

Kaneki woke up as he was shoved hard. He must have fallen asleep. It was unexpectedly cold and very spacious. He realised that there were many different places in each cell. On one wall was a sort of reinforced glass that was impossible to break and was alarmed, used if it was needed to speak to the ghoul. It also seemed like there was a separate room where there was a bathroom.

"Who-who are you?" asked Kaneki. The last time he checked he was pretty sure that he had no room mates. The person was particularly buff and scary looking, as if he had gone through all sorts of experiences.

"Don't ask me that, who the f- are you?!" shouted the person grabbing him by the collar. "You're human right? I can eat you then."

The person chomped on Kaneki's arm, instantly making him shake in fear of being eaten, except the person stopped midway through.

"I was joking," he said.

_Well, it seemed pretty real to me, _thought Kaneki.

"I am called Jason 'round here and no questions are asked about me."

"Oh… I'm Kaneki Ken," introduced Kaneki only earning himself a punch to the gut. It sent him flying off his feet and crashing into the steel wall. Though all the ghoul powers are suppressed with the steel, Jason was very strong even without his kagune. Jason walked towards Kaneki who was trying to recover from the sudden attack.

"I didn't hear anyone ask what the hell you name was," he said roughly, his face so close to Kaneki's that he could feel the breath. Kaneki nodded promptly.

"Hey, no fights! You only have one job _Jason _and you don't it now," said the taller ghoul investigator from earlier. Kaneki tried to point the Dove out but was only pulled back by a strong grip from Jason.

"There's no escape, kid. And you're going to be in my hands _very _soon," said Jason gruffly, "you might want to stay put."

It was a threat. He knew that. But what he wanted, actually rather not want to know about, was what this 'job' that this monster ghoul roommate had and what was going to become of him when he was done with that job. The fact that Jason was circling the room and grinning sadistically and widely frightened Kaneki. With all the different books he had read, many, many, thoughts and ideas of what was going to happen made him shake furiously in fear. He covered his ears as if trying to block out the thoughts, only to his avail to find that what was most likely going to happen to him was interrogation.

What sort of interrogation does a ghoul have if a human is simply asked questions until that person is annoyed the hell?

**Thankyou for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed! Please leave a review because that is what keeps me writing!**

**Zaira Swift.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Torture

**Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to the 3****rd**** chapter! Tell me if I should up the rating from T - M. Though I am a teen...**

**Warning: Bloodshed/Gore. I'm sorry it's late, and I'm slowly coming out of my break! The real warning, if you don't like, DON'T READ. If you dare well… READ THE FOLLOWING PLEASE. **

**Though I'm not going all out, I want to say that a person called Craptastical said something 'sad' and so my **_**feelings **_**and **_**senses **_**are being poured into this. "**_**You don't have a sense of… well, anything." **_**WELL, I'm proving you fucking wrong. **

**This is what happens you aggravate a 13 year old girl with great amounts of fantasies who's into all sorts of anime/manga. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.**

…

Nothing.

That's what he could see.

Nothing.

There was nothing in front of him, both literally and metaphorically. He would die right there and forever delve into the dark, unable to do anything for himself. For three straight hours, there were spurts of kicks, beating and whipping, fracturing a few bones here and there. That was only the start. Then Jason would force his head back and shove mouthfuls of acid down his throat. He wanted to cough it out as it literally burned his throat and then slowly inside his body.

He knew he may be a ghoul, but this was _pure _torture.

"You know, I've just been holding back," said Jason. Smiling smugly as he gave Kaneki a firm kick to the stomach making him throw up a mixture of blood, acid and other vile liquids. He couldn't scream, no matter how much he wanted to. The constant flow of acid down his throat prevented him from speaking, screaming, shouting, even whispering to himself why on earth it had to be him.

"This is really what's in store for you." Jason whipped out a clamp, as if it was some sort of magic wand and aggressively shut and opened it for Kaneki to clearly see. Since he was strapped to a chair and unable to move from that position, all he could do is listen and see. Should he listen, he'll be taunted by Jason, should he see, he will see his own blood spilling out of his body.

"But then, you should ask, why am I doing this to you, huh?" asked Jason, "why am I? Why am I?"

There was silence except the squelch of blood as Jason took a step towards him.

"Do need me to show you? Here's the _bucket _and here's the _clamp. _When you add the two together, what do you get?"

There was a gurgle from Kaneki who was trying his best to get rid of the acid in his system by throwing it up, and the fact he was terrified at what was going to happen to him, but only to have his mouth clamped shut with Jason's large hand gripping his face. He felt like someone was crushing his skull and would start to pound on it with a hammer.

"Wrong answer and for that, what about losing a sense?" he hummed and then made a childish gesture.

"Naw got your nose!" he exclaimed, hiding his thumb behind his hand. Kaneki's eyes wandered from place to place, but he knew what was going to happen next. He could only focus on Jason and nowhere. It was a slow process. It started like a pinch on the nose then the bones in it started to crush, blood started gushing out of his nostrils and then the awaited pain. That part of the body was quickly ripped off, not even giving a single notice. The pain, unbearable, was immense making his entire body shudder as the blood dripped onto his lap. He was crying, but he wasn't sure they were clear salty tears or tears of red blood. Was it possible for him to ever smell again, was it even possible to grow back a _nose?_

"Still haven't broken? Let's take this to the next step," he said. "This is a needle. It's a type of drug which stunts _all _growth for a ghoul." Kaneki was frightened. Why couldn't he be given a quick death?! Was there even a reason for all this torture?

"And… the only place it can be inserted is…" explained Jason, pulling his eyelid and gave a measly smile. Though Kaneki could not see himself, his left eye became black and red.

_So it true he was a one eyed ghoul, _thought Jason chuckling to himself. He was going to have fun.

There was a crack, from a finger. It was loud and clear and that was the last thing he properly heard until he snapped into insanity and darkness.

"What's the number? Can't do some simple maths? What is 13 minus 7?" asked Jason, in a sing song voice. He had stopped pouring acid down his throat so Kaneki could speak. He croaked out a six only to find himself in deeper trouble.

"Couldn't hear you, maybe I should start again!" Kaneki Ken's eyes widened even more. _Please, no more! Give me a chance to live!_

"Oh, did I scare you? I'm just kidding." This was Jason. He could lie or be telling the truth, perhaps the mixture of both.

"There's only three more steps left," he said, "if you even survive until then."

He pulled out a glass jar. It was opaque, so it was hard to tell what was inside. He would have been able to hear the light tapping of multiple legs in the jar if it weren't for the noise of squelching and the incessant ringing in his ears.

"This is a red-headed Chinese centipede," he said, pulling out the struggling insect. It curled around Jason's finger wanting to bite him, only to be shaken. "You know what it does right?" Stepping closer and closer, Jason put the centipede in Kaneki's ear ignoring all murmurs of fear or gasping.

"First step done and something that will help you focus on something else," he opened the suitcase which had also contained the centipede. There was another jar. And it was crawling with spiders that were jet black with a spot of red on its back.

"I went to Australia before I was put here. They looked very pretty with its unique red back. It's in fact the 2nd most poisonous spider there," he said. [**Hey, I'm Australian, so I have to put in some Australia kick. We also have the 30 snakes out of 35 which are the most deadliest along with some other… dangerous animals, insects, reptiles etc. Enjoy your stay in Australia. XD**]

"There's exactly 20 of them. Of course being a ghoul, it takes longer for their poison to work and we have RC cells which can help alleviate the effect, but it can cause some side effect like internal bleeding but you'll live." He opened the jar and poured the spiders onto the bleeding arms and legs on Kaneki. The spiders were drowning in his blood but in order to take in the free delicacy, they bit him. The pain was tiny compared to what he was feeling but he could tell that the bite of the small spiders was much more compared to their size.

Being patient, Jason played around with Kaneki's disconnected fingers and toes, remembering when he was given the same torture. But then he had gone more roughly on Kaneki, so he can experience pain even worse than his. He was a frail, weak ghoul which simply the looks of a one eyed ghoul. He was pathetic, really and he can do anything with him except kill him. He didn't really know why the Doves would want to even want to know more about this strange half human, half ghoul mix. What's the point?

A gurgle and a whimpering noise alerted Jason that the internal bleeding had started. It was already 30 minutes since he started his second step. Onto the last one.

"Well, why don't I help you? I mean… if you have nothing inside then wouldn't that stop the internal bleeding?" asked Jason. Yes, the finale.

There was a movement, perhaps just a twitch. Shuddering, Kaneki Ken knew he was nearly at his end. Should this last any longer he would surely delve into an endless cavern of depression and insanity.

Flicking the blade across Kaneki's body, Jason arrived at the stomach. He would simply cut and then pull out his guts, no biggie. Kaneki's white hair was stained with dry blood. There was no movement when he made the cut. He chuckled to himself as he made the incision only to be joined by another laugh. It was Kaneki. Why was he laughing? Jason didn't know, but it infuriated yet pleased him. He was finally broken.

**Sorry, it wasn't that long, but for those gore lovers, I hope you enjoyed.**

**For those who don't, the next chapter will be the recovery of Kaneki Ken. I'll just say, there's going to be the fight and that's about what I can tell you now.**

**Bye for now, Zaira Swift. **


	4. Chapter 4 - Fighting Back

**O.O I was so scared. I was so scared, oh my god. I thought I had lost this story but I just realised I was looking at the wrong part of the screen and missed the folder called Stumbling Through Reality – Tokyo Ghoul. But thank god, I was just stupid and oblivious.**

**As of today, the rating will go up, or I can just put a warnings for the chapters which contain… red stuff…, you tell me what I should do. Most likely I'll just make it M.**

**Merry Christmas everyone, I'm sure most of the stories I have been writing should be updating on this very day.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.**

"HahahahaHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed Kaneki. Jason continued the incision but was quickly stopped by the most powerful grip. The chains that prevented Kaneki from moving had snapped from his pure strength.

"You… will be the first prey," said Kaneki. Enraged that Kaneki ken was still able to move, proved to Jason that his torture was probably not as bad as he thought.

There was a twitch in his body, as Kaneki's body shuddered furiously. One of his eyes became black and red but something was off. It wasn't Kaneki, but Rize using his body.

"Ara? Jason, I think you might want to get away from this boy. Your chances of surviving will depend if you kill Kaneki," she/Kaneki said and then sighed. "Thank you for letting me borrow your body to experience life again, Kaneki kun. Good bye Mr Inconsequential." [**A/N I don't own 'inconsequential' - it was in the anime…**]

"Hahahaha, you think that is going to happen?" Jason's vein popped on his head and reached forward to grab Kaneki's neck, only to find he never reached his neck. The arm had been promptly cut off. Screaming and clutching the bloodied shoulder, Jason fell to the ground. Kaneki grinned widely and forced Jason to lie on this stomach who was unable to move from that position. Since he was sprawled on the ground and so helpless, it gave Kaneki the idea that he should repeat the torture he had, only one of them.

"What is 1000 minus 7?" asked Kaneki, cracking a knuckle and then pushing his kagune down harshly on his other arm. When there was no reply, he easily flicked his kagune and the arm was detached from the body.

"I'll ask again, what is 1000 minus 7?" asked Kaneki. Once again there was no reply, so he cut off his right leg, which had kicked him a few times.

"9-993, 9-9-986…" he trailed off as Jason's other leg was cut off.

"You know… I don't have to consume human meat. What about ghouls?" said Kaneki, thoughtfully, "it might be better."

His stomach growled at the sight of blood and took a taste test. The taste was disgusting, like rotten fish and pretty much shit, not that he knew what shit tasted like.

"Maybe I'll start with the brain, it's literally what keeps you alive. It sends messages to the body," said Kaneki out loud making sure each word sunk into Jason's thick head. "So, what message is it telling you? Pain? Suffering? Or is it… fear?"

A heavy and large strike hit literally split his head. He was not dead, of course, that would just ruin the fun. Kaneki remember something he read about Ancient Egyptian history. Why, what a good time. In the process of mummification, they used a metal rod to penetrate through the nose and then squish the brain into mush so they can take it out. It's not like Jason really needed a brain.

Kaneki picked up the knife that Jason had been using earlier. Pleased that the knife could be used as a substitute to a metal rod. He started hacking away at the split head, ignoring all the blood. As soon as he had made the first incision, Jason squirmed. His kagune slowly retracting.

"Nuh-uh," tutted Kaneki. He grabbed his kagune and tore it out of Jason's back. In one hand was Jason's kagune, which Kaneki happily munched on. Ignoring the crimson blood as it dripped on to his snow white hair, he thrashed away at the brain. He was dead, it sort of ruined the fun, but that was okay.

Gulping down the last of kagune, he scooped up some brainy mess and slurped it up and spat it back out.

"Disgusting…" he chucked it away and got back up looking at his work. Well, one day gone as human the next a ghoul.

_There is no going back, _thought Kaneki, sighing.

He spotted some of the CCG members coming to check the scene. They were all shocked, not expecting so. It was gruesome and no one wanted to smell the stench of ghoul blood.

"Kaneki Ken," said one man. Wearing the white overcoat and black suit and tie, he looked just like the other Doves, but he was more sophisticated, each stride so graceful yet threatening.

"Who are you?" asked Kaneki.

"Haha, I'm Kishou Arima," he laughed, his facial expressions not even looking like he was laughing. This piqued Kaneki's interest and decided that he didn't seem like he was going to do any harm, but still kept his guard up.

"Good, seems like you understand a few things about pain," he said. "Come with me and put your kagune away."

"Tch." Kaneki Ken retracted his kagune and followed him. If it was anyone else, they would say they looked like old pals, but if they saw the blood stains on Kaneki or the scene they left behind, they would say they were complete psychopaths.

They arrived at a small office where they both sat on a separate couch facing each other. Arima leaned in.

"I would like to make a proposal…"

**HOHOHO MERRY CHRISTMAS. Okay that's not cool for stuff I write in this story. It's good stress relief though. **

**Had to end it off there. :)**

**Thank you so much for reading and have a merry Christmas! **

**Zaira Swift.**


	5. Chapter 5 - The Proposal and Anteiku

**Welcome back and it sure has been suspenseful. I haven't really been typing much because I've been rewriting a story by hand because I can't go on my laptop for a long time because my eyesight will get worse, though it's not as bad as other people. I don't wear glasses, phew, but I wear night contacts so I have to make sure my clear sight lasts the entire day or I'm screwed.**

**Hehehe, listening to Unravel the opening song while typing~ OH yeah, we're opening up to more characters now~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul! **

"_I would like to make a proposal…" _

"Disapproving bastards," mumbled Kaneki. As he once again freely strolled the streets of the 20th ward.

_**Flashback**_

"_I'll let you free of any charge, but you must do as I say,_" _said Arima._

"_And what do I have to do?" asked Kaneki._

"_First of all, you are a test material, something I'm researching," he started explaining and continued as if waiting for me to know where he was getting, "as you know, ghouls take on the form of a human to get towards their prey. There are different forms of a ghoul, right? In order to obtain the most powerful and different form, we need you to eat ghouls, instead of humans. Doesn't that work to your advantage that you don't want to hurt humans and that you have already had a taste of ghouls?"_

"_Yes," replied Kaneki after a moment of thought. "What else is there?"_

"_Well, we're also testing the effects of your kakugan since you only have one. It should be impossible, because it can only be produced by a human and a ghoul mating and the child and human shouldn't be able to survive. But I suppose that the organ transplant from Ms Rize has given you the effect," concluded Arima._

"… _Just tell me your aim. You've only outlined certain points," said Kaneki, knowing that the man was hiding something._

"_I want to know more about ghouls. Whether it leads us to destruction, peace or war, I don't care," he said then with the smallest grin, "because the best specimen and ghoul is you. A human transformed into a ghoul, being tortured to the point where one would die from their own presence. Pretty weak, if you ask me."_

_Kaneki glared at him._

"_I don't really view you as that way, but more of a… I don't know an offspring of me. We are alike in ways," he said._

Who the fuck wants to be your son, _thought Kaneki. _

"_As long as you don't cause any trouble for us, you can roam free. Kill as many ghouls and eat them if you want and we'll even let you help capture and kill some on behalf of the CCG, of course. You'll be helping yourself and me. Win –Win situation." Arima leaned forward and patted Kaneki's back and then let him go. "So what do you say?" he asked._

"_Fine."_

"_Good, just remember that you can't eat anything except for ghouls. You'll just throw up if you don't," he said, "oh yeah, if you need anything to quench your thirst, coffee's good. We found that out very easily."_

Well, _your face makes me throw up, _thought Kaneki.

_Kaneki stood up and Arima led him to the exit._

Now that he was finally free from that hell, he returned to his apartment that he lived in. It was already noon, and he wasn't at all hungry.

"Looks like I'll have to chuck these away…" he said to himself about the food that he stored. There was a knock on the door and then someone called his name

"Yo, Kaneki~" He went to the door and opened it to meet his friend, Hideyoshi.

"Ah Hide, how's it going?" he asked.

"Good, cool hair," said Hide, smiling widely like he always did. Kaneki peered at his now white hair and ruffled it as he sighed.

"Do you have any time? Let's go to that café if it's okay for you," he said, "since you disappeared from hospital and everything, it was sort of unsettling…"

"Sorry for making you worry," apologised Kaneki, "c'mon let's go then!" _Hopefully he won't ask where I was. That will probably make him worry even more though._

The two friends strolled through the streets like they had for most of their life during their friendship. Hide just talked about how everything was going in his life and about things that Kaneki had missed out in the two days. Everything seemed like a blur to Kaneki except the… incident with Jason. It felt like time stopped at that moment.

"So- ah here we are!" exclaimed Hide, pointing casually at Anteiku Café.

"Ooh~ that coffee smell is just like it was. So homely and welcoming," said Hide. That's when Kaneki panicked. What did he mean by a smell? He strained himself to at least smell something, but he couldn't. What was it? Was it when Jason got his nose? No he couldn't think of that. Hide realised the strained and depressed face that Kaneki made. He was worried for him and his suspicions were most likely to be true.

"Welcome," said a girl. She was younger than them by about two years. He recognised her as the girl who served them the drinks from the previous time they visited the café.

The two friends seated themselves at a table and ordered food. Kaneki quickly remembered that he couldn't eat human food and simply ordered coffee. He panicked, slightly but remained calm to make everything seem normal.

"Aren't you hungry?" asked Hide.

"N-not really," replied Kaneki. Hide sighed inwardly. His suspicions were true, but he didn't pry into it. He'll find out by himself in the end.

They didn't speak and waited patiently.

They ate and drank peacefully and then talked endlessly about their lives, remember all the old times they spent together from every mischief they shared to all the different achievements. They talked about when they were in elementary, middle and high school and about the teachers in university. It made Kaneki feel like the two of them haven't met for many many years and were just recounting their lives as if it just happened.

"Oh, it's getting dark," said Hide as he looked outside. "You wanna go together or do you have some stuff to do?"

"You can go ahead. I'm checking out the bookstore later," replied Kaneki with a grim smile. He didn't like lying to his best friend. When Hide left, Kaneki sat quietly at his seat and simply stared. What seemed like moments turned into minutes, it was already the closing time of Anteiku Café.

"Sir, I'm sorry but it is closing time," said the girl. Seeing her name tag, she was called Touka.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Touka," said Kaneki only to stop right in his tracks. He could sense something. No, smell. Whatever it was, it seemed to return the sense of smell back to him.

"Ah, so you're a ghoul as well?" she asked. She held up her hand where she was holding a package of some kind.

Kaneki panned his head to stare at the window revealing his reflection. One of his eyes was black and glowing an unsightly blood red. He chuckled maniacally to himself.

"Yeah-aha, I am," he said. What she was holding was human meat. The thought of it just disgusted him.

Touka stood there and stared, confused. Only one eye was a kakugan. The last time she saw him, he was human, but now a ghoul.

_Was it related to Ms Rize? _She thought. She asked him if he was hungry or wanted any of the meat as she took him to the staff room and opened the package and started feasting on it herself.

"N-no. I can't," he said.

"Fine, suit yourself," she said, a mouth full of meat. He seemed disturbed at the sight so when she finished she cleaned up quickly. Before she could say anything, her boss, Yoshimura, came out.

"Do you want to work here?"

There was silence, even though they expected him to answer quickly back with either a yes or not.

**Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you soon! I'm slowly getting to all the stories, don't worry!**

**I'm working on some wicked plot for KHR, but that doesn't matter for now~**

**Zaira Swift.**


	6. Chapter 6 - Talking it out

**Hey everyone! I would like to thank for all those people who have favoured or followed this story, the 1200+ views and the 15 reviews! I am really happy and I've had a sad headache for the last few days, probably from all the food and partying from New Year's Eve.**

**It's seriously hot and I'm sorry if it's sloppy. I am the type of person who can't stand heat even though I've lived in Australia for my life. Besides, this summer has stuffed up. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.**

"_Do you want to work here?"_

_There was silence, even though they expected him to answer quickly back with a yes or no…_

"I don't know," answered Kaneki. Both Yoshimura and Touka were surprised.

"I'll give it a go." Then there were sighs of relief. So Kaneki was just unsure. "Um, how did you get that meat?"

"Oh, we went out and killed an innocent human and tore the person's body a part and stored it," replied Touka. Kaneki gave an _"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" _face.

"Touka, enough with the jokes," said Yoshimura then seeing Kaneki practically flop forward from the fact what she said wasn't true, "not all ghouls are like what Touka-chan said. This meat is from humans who have already died."

"Oh."

"That doesn't explain anything. We don't really know if we can trust him. One day he's a human and now he's a ghoul and he only has ONE kakugan," said Touka.

"We've already gone through this Touka. I'm sure he can speak for himself."

Touka and Yoshimura sat opposite of Kaneki who was sitting on a couch. Between the three was a coffee table where, for its sole purpose, had a few coffee cups set on it. Taking a sip from the coffee, suspicious of its taste, Kaneki found it pleasantly edible.

"Would you like to start from the beginning? Or should we set out the questions?" asked Yoshimura.

"Ah, you want my story?" asked Kaneki smiling grimly remembering very _unpleasant- _that's an understatement. "It's not something you want to know. I'll just say that I was turned into a ghoul because I was transplanted with Ms Rize's organs and that's what I know. I was captured by the CCG though."

He left out the part where he was… harmed by Jason.

"But I escaped," finished Kaneki.

"Why aren't they looking for you?" asked Touka, curious because the Doves' activity had certainly lowered and the area had become calmer.

"I don't really know. I guess they think I'm not much of a threat from the… interrogation," said Kaneki, pausing to find a suitable word to replace torture.

"Hm." Yoshimura was suspicious of Kaneki but trusted him. There was something about him that seemed to have been taken away from him and then made him calmer than what he assumed. There was a type of aura that hung around him. It was fear. Whether it was fear for getting hurt himself or fear of other getting hurt, he didn't know but what Kaneki lost was definitely something that could as well been something that kept him alive and, well, him.

The white hair didn't help either. The last time he checked he had black hair and for it to suddenly be white is near impossible. I couldn't be bleached, because bleach takes a long time for it to be completely white and barely 3 days have passed. Was it something connected to the incident with Ms Rize's death?

"Is there a problem, um?" asked Kaneki.

"Yoshimura."

"Ah, is there a problem Yoshimura san?" asked Kaneki again adding Yoshimura's name.

"No, I wouldn't call it a problem for me. More like a sudden interest," said the old man. "What happened to you?" He opened his eyes by the slightest, but no one noticed. There was no reply, which confirmed Yoshimura's suspicions. He didn't want to pry into it but Touka did.

"We're trusting you. We want to know that you trust us, so you may as well answer," said Touka. Yoshimura wanted to tell Touka that they had no need to pry into it but Kaneki spoke, quietly but clear.

"I'll tell you. If you have the stomach for it, but the only way you'll be hurling is eating human food," he said trying to make a small joke. "Okay, the moment I was discharged from hospital, I trusted them. Only to be taken by the CCG and dumped into the detention centre for ghouls. That's why I no longer trust anyone, so I'm sorry if you're offended by this, but I don't trust you either."

"You better." Kaneki waved at Touka's threat, and continued.

"Jason. That was his name. It takes quite the effort to say his name."

"_Jason?_"

"Well, let's just say I was tortured for no reason."

"Pfft, what can that do? That's nothing compared to-"

"Touka, be quiet," ordered Yoshimura.

"As I was saying, I was torture for no reason. I'm sure whatever what happened to you is bad, but…" he grimace badly and started ranting, "when you have no idea what's going to happen to you and you're completely helpless, you feel fear. This fear drove me insane, okay? He tortured me to my limits, both physically and mentally. My _limbs _were cut off, I was brutally kicked and punched, acid shoved down my throat which made me unable to scream, so I couldn't even hear myself. He played with me, even taking my nose which prevented me from smelling, even now, until you brought out that… human meat. I was injected in the eye which stunted my regeneration abilities as a ghoul and then a red-headed Chinese centipede was put into my ear, which went away and started eating away at my brain. I was internally bleeding from some stupid spiders that came from Australia and almost had my guts forcefully cut out."

Touka seemed horrified.

"And then what happened? You said they were almost cut out," said Yoshimura. Kaneki grinned widely and madly.

"I died."

They knew he didn't die physically, what was worse was the fact he died mentally. He went insane and they knew the rest of the story and then end of Jason, but not knowing about the part about Arima's proposal.

They let Kaneki leave and Touka started to reflect on herself while Yoshimura was thinking deeply about Kaneki.

"My kagune almost came out…" mumbled Kaneki as he stumbled into his small apartment.

**I hope you've enjoyed! Please leave a review~ I was going to add some things to the chapter but I don't want to veer off course. It's freaking hot and I'm annoyed at the fact I'm not hungry.**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Zaira Swift.**


	7. Chapter 7 - University

**As of today, dastan2132 will be my beta for this story! He is going to be my beta for any story which he decides he wants to do. Anyone else who wants to Beta for any other stories can PM me or review.**

**Thank you dastan2132 for being my beta!**

**BETA's message – [Hey guys, I'm actually really excited to be the beta this story, and if you see any grammar errors I missed, please PM me and let me know so I can look out for those errors in the future, thanks.]**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul**.

The following days were spent in peace. Kaneki Ken only went out once a day just to go to Anteiku Café. He was supposed to be training for being one of the waiters for the café but he always got his own time where he was by himself and would just sit in the corner of the café for a long period of time. He also had to dye his white hair so he wouldn't attract much attention while wearing a medical eye patch over his left eye.

It was peaceful, and that was what he thought until he had encountered hunger. With a ghoul the size of Jason, he was be able to last just under a week and he highly doubted that there were going to be other ghouls that were going to be his size.

He tried figuring out strategies in order to get these ghouls. Should he only hunt the ghouls that have harmed humans? Perhaps a ghoul that wasn't as respectful as the ones in Anteiku since they would only eat the dead.

Ring… Ring…

Reaching to his back pocket, he pulled out this phone and answered the call.

"Uh, hey Kaneki, it's Hide." Said the caller.

"Hi, what's up?"

"Come on, you can't just give me the 'what's up'!" he exclaimed, "I'm just giving you a heads up that the university's having a thing for juniors and the senpais. It goes from 4pm to 6pm so you have half an hour to get there. I'll meet you then!"

"Thanks Hide, see you soon." The phone's screen darkened as the call ended. Sighing, he started to make his way towards the school taking the closest bus stop to get to his university.

…

"KANEKI! Over here!" shouted Hide waving at the black haired young adult who just arrived at the university. Kaneki smiled at his friend's welcoming exuberance and quickened his pace by a bit to get to his friend quicker than he planned.

"So where is it at? The lecture hall?" asked Kaneki, puffing a little bit just for show. As part ghoul, his physical abilities have increased and may have gone through more than just one roof. Hideyoshi nodded and Kaneki followed him as they started walking towards the main lecture hall where the elder students of the university and juniors would discuss whatever they were going to.  
>On the way they met with a blonde upperclassman who just sneered at them for the fact, most likely, that they were just brats.<p>

"What's the hell's wrong with him?" asked Hide to both himself and Kaneki.

"It's pretty normal for the upperclassmen. They're older than us after all…" said Kaneki then veering off to a quiet voice. He didn't mind anyone like the blondie since he figured that anyone else couldn't harm him as much as Jason did. He was restricted, held down, completely helpless, but now he could fight back. He will fight back. But it was not his nature as a fellow 'human' to harm another unless he was provoked or someone close to him was hurt.

"Whoa, you looked pretty serious, are you okay?" Hide's words interrupted Kaneki's thoughts and he simply returned a smile and Hide just ranted on saying that he should discuss his feelings so he could help him.

I highly doubt you can help me with this ghoul business, thought Kaneki. As oblivious as he is, he failed to notice the sadness that Hide had been struggling to hide.

"Kaneki, can't you open up a bit more? I'm your friend after all and it doesn't matter if you're ghoul or not," muttered Hide to himself.

"Did you say something?" asked Kaneki. It sounded like Hide was just speaking his thoughts so he didn't want to pry into it directly.

"Nah it's nothing. I was just thinking about what on earth they want us to do when it's the break time," said Hide, "reminds me, break ends after the weekend. No wonder."

…

"No way." They had arrived at the lecture hall and as soon as they were seated and ready for whomever to speak, the blonde went up to the stage and the person who followed him was Arima.

"Welcome underclassmen, upperclassmen, teachers, and special guest Professor Arima Kishou," said the blonde.

"How'd he become the representative for the seniors?" whispered Hide to Kaneki. He shrugged and the two of them chuckled to themselves as Hide made, quite, smart retorts and comments to the blonde. They soon found out that he was filling in for the senior's representative, Nishiki Nishio who was a close friend of the senior's representative and the head student of the pharmaceutical sciences and technology section who was also the I.T. guy who kept records of the school's events that all require technological assistance along with fixing student's laptops and school electronics.

"Pretty respectful job he has. It's a wonder how his character clashes with what he does," remarked Hide.

"True that," replied Kaneki only to be reminded that Arima was there as the man himself stood up and went to the podium.

"I am _delighted_ to be here. As you know I am a professor in human nature and biology along with basic sciences and research on anything many people overlook as something simple or too mysterious," said Arima emphasizing 'delighted.' The things people overlook would have been ghouls, but only Kaneki knows that.

"Today we are going to be in groups of three," explained Arima, "underclassmen are to be in pairs and you will have a senior who will be joining you. Teachers are here for any questions and aid while I will be going around to help. In these groups, you will be discussing about any future plans, whether you have any idea what you want to be and the senior is there to help you should there be any contradictions in the courses you are doing and what you are aiming for."

By default, Hide and Kaneki paired themselves together and waited as the teachers started to pick random seniors for the students' groups. And lucky them, they got Nishiki Nishio.

"Hey kids. You better ask smart questions or your future won't look that bright," he said with a smile and evil dancing in his eyes which were hidden by his glasses.

"Yeah-aha, okay…?" said Hide, who definitely did not expect the blonde to be their senior in their small group.

"Come on Hide, it's probably from looks. He can't be that bad," reassured Kaneki. He sure couldn't be as bad as Jason. Ask anyone who had experienced something from Jason and they'll agree with him.

"I feel like a lot of back talking comes from you two, especially you," said Nishiki pointing at Hide. Hide laughed nervously and Kaneki just smiled anxiously. There was something off with this guy. He could feel it and it wasn't his personality.

…

**And that's the end of this chapter~ I hope you've enjoyed and thank you for reading!**

**Zaira Swift.**


	8. Chapter 8 - University PART II

**Hey everyone, I'm sorry for not updating, I've just not been in the right mood and I decided to take a break, and it was longer than expected… And tragically, I had a hospital appointment… I was meant to go back to school after the thing, but it prolonged and even if I do get to school, it's barely an hour for study, so now I'm at home and typing. That's good. **

**Thank you for being my beta, Dastan, but this chapter's not going to be beta-ed, so if there are any mistakes, blame it on me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul.**

…

"That was torture…" groaned Hide. Kaneki flinched. He repeated to himself to focus on the future, not the past. This way he would prevent anything else from happening.

"It was pretty helpful though," Kaneki said as Nishiki returned from the break.

"I assume you understood everything?" asked Nishiki as he sat himself down across the pair. He threw two cans at them in which Kaneki caught easily while Hide fumbled then caught. Nishiki raised an eyebrow at Kaneki who had caught the can with one hand and decided to ignore it. He looked like he did athletics so it would be normal for him.

"Um, thanks?" Hide and Kaneki thanked the senior as they opened the cans of drink and then sipped on it. Kaneki was surprised that is was iced coffee and not something else, so he was saved from drinking rotten flavoured drinks. Then the feeling earlier would mean… so Nishiki was a ghoul? Kaneki looked at his friend who happily chugged down the drink completely ignoring the fact that the strict senior had just 'tortured' them about future expectations and studies.

"Are you all having a jolly time?" asked a new voice.

"Arima-san," said Kaneki as if in response as the elder person sat down with them. The ghoul investigator eyed the drink and then Kaneki as the younger smiled nervously. Despite that, the two were getting calculating looks from both Hideyoshi and Nishiki.

"So Kaneki, have you and sensei met before or something?" asked Hide, nudging his friend.

"Ah, sort of… We just talked about some stuff. I didn't figure that we'd meet again, especially at Kamii," Kaneki replied. Arima smirked and then patted Kaneki on the shoulder like an old friend.

"What are your courses?" asked Arima pushing his glasses back on to his nose as it threatened to fall off his face.

"I'm doing Japanese literature," replied Kaneki.

"International studies," said Hide smiling goofily.

"And you, Nishiki?"

"Pharmaceutical Sciences," said Nishiki confidently and proud of his area of study.

"I know it might be too late, or it isn't something related to what you're doing, but what would be your dream job?" asked Arima. The trio remained silent, as if thinking of an answer. A dream job was already something out of their reach when you've chosen something else. It would require great effort to reach that goal, should it be as simple as being a teacher. (No offence to teachers. It's a figure of speech and I couldn't think of anything else. Anyways, I'm a student and you can't blame me.)

Hideyoshi scratched his cheek while slightly grinning.

"If I had to choose, I'd be like an investigator but behind the scenes so no one knows about it… I already have a hobby that relates to it so it can be like a side thing for me. But to keep it up, I probably need the studies," he said.

"Interesting… I wish you luck. A good choice would be to become an undercover or minor ghoul investigator," said Arima, looking at Kaneki for any expressions. He seemed like he was annoyed and wanted to face palm himself.

"I actually don't want to work," interrupted Nishiki.

"And why is that?"

"I'd rather care for my girlfriend. We weren't exactly… _supposed to be_, if you get what I mean," said Nishiki. Raising an eyebrow, Arima was curious however did not pry. And last of all, there was Kaneki Ken.

"What about you, Kaneki?"

"A ghoul investigator."

"And is this your will or is it something that led you towards it?" asked Arima. It would be surprising if he had chosen to be a ghoul investigator from his free will and not because he wanted him to help the CCG.

"It's out of my own will." Smiling just the bit, Arima decided it would do for that day, and so he left.

The once tense mood lightened and relaxed.

"Seriously, I thought he was interrogating us," said Hide, sighing heavily as if a great weight had been lifted off him.

"Yeah…" Kaneki said. He ruffled his hair amiably, yet deep down he felt he should be worried. Why a ghoul investigator? Why did he say that?

Nishiki remained silent, observing the two underclassmen as they bickered on.

_You a ghoul investigator, eh? _He thought. Sighing he stood up.

"Come on, brats. It's about time we head back." And so the trio returned to the lecture hall to conclude the day.

**Lol, that was awkward. I'm sorry Dastan. I know you wanted Itori in this chapter, but I'll fit her in soon.**

**Thank you for reading everyone! And I hope you aren't disappointed with this after so long.**

**Zaira Swift.**


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